Treatment options vary for the different types of blood cancer. Your choices depend on your specific diagnosis, age, cytogenetic analysis (an examination of the chromosomes in your marrow, blood and lymph node cells), overall health and other factors.

Your treatment plan might include:

• Watch and wait
• Chemotherapy or other drug therapies
• Radiation therapy
• Immunotherapy
• Vaccine therapy
• Stem cell transplantation
• Blood transfusion
• Palliative care
• Clinical trials
• All of the above

Surgery can be, but usually isn't, a part of treatment for cancers that involve the blood and marrow.

When you talk with your doctor about a treatment plan, you'll likely have questions about the treatment options he or she recommends. Click here to download lists of suggested questions to ask your doctor.